Restraining device for dental chairs



- ansmu ums DEVICE boa DENTAL cxmms Filed May 28, 1926 I I INVENTOR 'y iya i EMAETORNEY Patented Jan. 11, 1927.

UNITED STATES THOMAS A. HART, OF DANBURY, CONNECTICUT.

RESTRAINING- DEVICE FOR DENTAL CHAIRS.

Application filed May 28,

This invention relates to a device for use upon a patient in a dentalchair and, more particularly, to a protective and restraining means foruse upon a patient under general anesthesia in a dental chair.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a device of the abovegeneral nature which is practical and efficient. Another object is toprovide a device of the above nature capable of placing the patient in adental chair under such restraint that, when he is under the effects ofan anesthetic, danger of his harming himself or others is avoided.Another object is to provide a device of the above nature combining apro tective apron with dependable restraining means. Another object isto provide a device of the above nature which is simple and inexpensive.Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts as will beexemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described and the scopeof the aplication of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown one of the variouspossible embodiments of this invention,

Figure 1 shows the device in position upon a patient in a dental chair;and

Fig. 2 shows the device removed from the patient and laid out flat.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in both views of thedrawing.

As conducive to a clearer understanding of this invention, it may behere noted that frequently a dentists patient under the effects of ananesthetic will become extremely violent. It is impossible to predictwhat sort of physical activity a patient may display when he or she isemerging from under the influence of the anesthetic. A powerful man may,without proper restraint, become wholly unmanageable and render itimpossible for the. dentist to properly complete his work. The patientmay strike or kick at the dentist, or he may slide down out of positionin the chair, or he may leave the chair and thus become whollyuncontrollable. If the patient succeeds in leaving the chair, beingwholly unconscious of what he is doing, he may inflict injury uponhimself or upon others and damage property which happens to come withinhis reach.

1928. Serial No. 112,363.

When the patient is a woman, she may struggle and kick and then, uponentirely emerging from the influence of the anesthetic, be in a positionto cause embarrassment.

When the dentist employs means to restrain the patient from suchphysical activity as outlined above, the device, whatever it may be, is,of course, generally applied before the anesthetic is administered. Thisoften gives rise to a dificult situation because the patient generallybelieves that it is not necessary to fasten him to the chair, and if hesees that he is being securely strapped or tied, he. becomes suspiciousand. nervous and may refuse to permit the dentist to apply the restraingdevice. It is therefore desirable that the restraining means employed benot particularly noticeable to the patient and be capable of beingapplied without attracting his attention and possibly exciting hisdisfavor. It is also desirable that the restraining means .employed,while dependably holding the patient in the chair, allow him a degree offreedom of movement and be comfortable. Referring now to the drawing,there is shown in Fig. 1 a patient seated in a dental chair 10 of theusual construction. Over the front of the patient is thrown an apron 11.The apron at its upper end is preferably cut out as at 11' to fitloosely around the neck and shoulders and is of a length to reachtherefrom substantially to the feet of the seated patient. The apron, inthe first place, thus serves as a protective covering to protect theclothing of the patient from accident-ally spilled water or othermaterial employed by the dentist. An apron of some sort is generallyemployed in dental work, so that when this apron is fitted over thepatient it does not unduly attract his attention.

The apron 11 is of such width that it overhangs at the sides of thepatient as shown in Fig. 1. It is made of a heavy fabric or othersuitable strong material and may be rubberized or otherwise treated torender it waterproof, if so desired. Along the side edges of the apronare formed a plurality of preferably evenly spaced openings 12 which arereinforced by suitable means, such as metal eyelets, for example.

At either side of the apron in the opening l2 at the bottom corner, issecured a rope or cord l3 which is adapted to be passed around to theback of the chair base and there secured, preferably by being tied. tothe corresponding cord from the other side of the apron as shown at 1 1in Fig.1. These parts 18 are shown herein as a su table light but strongrope or cord, but it is to be understood that any suitable member of thecharacter of a. rope may be used, and that the term cord as employedherein is to be interpreted broadly. The cords 13 hold the lower portionof the apron snugly in about the ankles of the patient and prevent thepatient from raising his legs and kicking.

At either side of the apron adjacent the knees of the patient isprovided a cord 15 which is laced through a plurality of openings 12 1212 and 12 and is looped to draw these openings together, as shown inFig. 1, thereby forming folds 16, drawing the material of the aprontogether at the sides of the knee portion so that it fits closely andyet comfortably about the knees of the patient. From this knee portionthe cord 15 is laced through the next two openings 12 and 12 which arepositioned along the sides of the patient adjacent the seat of thechair, and is then passed around the back of the chair and tied, as at17, to the corresponding cord from the other side of the apron.

The cords 15 hold the apron snugly in against the knees and the lap ofthe pa tient. It will be seen that this fastening prevents the patientfrom sliding downwardly and forwardly in the chair and also serves toprevent the patient from rising and leaving the chair.

At either side of the apron adjacent the waist of the patient is acord18 secured in the opening 12 and thence laced through the opening 12?,being then passed around any suitable projection, such as 19, at theback of the chair and thence suitably laced through the uppermostopenings 12 and 12 and secured as by tying at 20 to the correspondingcord from the other side of the apron. Preferably the cord 18 where itpasses between the openings 12 and 12 is led beneath the arm of thepatient as shown, the arm thus resting between the edge of the apron andthe cord 18 at this point.

This last-described fastening holds the apron in about the shoulders ofthe patient while permitting the patient to move his arms at the elbow.Although the patient is thus permitted a certain degree of freedom ofmovement of his arms, he is restrained from lifting his arms or swingingthem up- Wardly at the shoulder so as to strike the dentist or interferewith his work.

As is brought out in Fig. 2, the apron is preferably simply a fiatrectangular piece of material shaped only at the neck portion 11*. Theapron is thus inexpensive and may be laundered with the greatest ease.The shaping of the upper portions about the neck and shoulders causesthe upper portion of the apron to lie smoothly and evenly across theshoulders of the patient when the sides are drawn together by the cords18.

The apron 11 is thus held in about the patient by the cords 13, 15 and18 in such manner that the patient is effectively restrained fromviolent activity. The securing means employed are not conspicuous,forming a part of the apron itself, and they do not tend to excite fearor resentment in the patient. After the apron has been thrown over theseated patient, the cords may be laced into place and tied quickly andconveniently. The restraint afforded is such that even a powerful man isprevented from doing harm or interfering with the work of the dentist.in the case of a woman patient, it may be desirable to use only thelower portion of the apron, and this'may be done by simply omitting touse the cords 18 and folding the upper portion of the apron down overthe lap of the patient.

As various possible embodiments may be made of the above invention andas many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it isto be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

1. A restraining device for use upon a patient seated in a dental chaircomprising, in combination, an apron adapted to cover the patient, saidapron being of a length to extend substantially from the shoulders tothe feet of the seated'patient, and means secured to said apronextending from the sides thereof and adapted to be passed around towardthe back of the chair and made fast to hold said apron in against thepatient and thereby to secure the patient in the chair, said meansincluding means for holding the upper portion of the apron in suchposition that the patient is restrained from swinging his arms upwardlyat the shoulder.

2. A restraining device for use upon a patient seated in a dental chaircomprising, in combination, an apron adapted to cover the patient, saidapron being of a' length to extend substantially from the shoulders tothe feet of the seated patient, and means secured to said apronextending from the sides thereof and adapted to be passed around towardthe back of the chair and made fast to hold said apronin against thepatient and thereby to secure the patient in the chair, said meansincluding means holding. said apron in about the knees of the patient ina manner to insure covering of the knees and to prevent the patient fromsliding forwardly and downwardly in the chair.

3. A restraining device for use upon a patient seated in a dental chaircomprising, in combination, an apron adapted to cover the patient, saidapron being of a length to extend substantially from the shoulders tothe feet of the seated patient, and means secured to said apronextending from the sides thereof and adapted to be passed around towardthe back of the chair and made fast to hold said apron in against thepatient and thereby to secure the patientin the chair, said meansincluding means holding said apron in about the shoulders of the patientin a position to cover the shoulders and up-' per arm portions of thepatient and means holding said apron in about the ankles of the patient.

4. A restraining device for use upon a patient seated in a dental chaircomprising, in combination, an apron adapted to cover the patient, saidapron being of a length to extend substantially from the shoulders tothe feet of the seated patient and comprising a substantiallyrectangular piece of material having spaced openings along the sideedgesthereof, and cords laced through said openings and adapted to befastened at the back of the chair for holding said apron in against thepatient and thereby securing the patient in the chair.

5. A restraining device for use upon a patient seated in a dental chaircomprising, in combination, an apron adapted to cover the patient, saidapron being of a length to extend substantially from the shoulders tothe feet of the seated patient and comprising a substantiallyrectangular piece of material having spaced openings along the sideedges thereof, and a cord on each side of said apron laced through aplurality of said openings at the portion of said apron about the kneesof the patient to draw the material of said knee portion together at thesides and to cause said portion to fit about the knees of the patient,said cords being adapted to be passed toward the back of the chair andfastened to hold said portion of the apron securely in against the kneesof the patient.

6. A restraining device for use upon a patient seated in a dental chaircomprising,

in combination, an apron adapted to cover the patient, said apron beingof a length to extend substantially from the shoulders to the feet ofthe seated patient and comprising a substantially rectangular piece ofmaterial having spaced openings along the side edges thereof, and cordslaced through a plurality of said openings adjacent the upper portion ofsaid apron and adapted to be passed around to the back of the chair andthere secured so as to hold the upper portion of said apron snugly inagainst the shoulders of the patient.

7. A restraining device for use upon a patient seated in a dental chaircomprising, in combination, an apron adapted to cover the patient, saidapron being of a length to extend substantially from the shoulders tothe feet of the seated patient and comprising a substantiallyrectangular piece of material having spacec openings along the sideedges thereof, and cords laced through said openings and adapted to befastened at the back of the chair for holding said apron in against thepatient and thereby securing the patient in the chair, said cordsincluding a cord adapted to hold the bottom portion of said apron inabout the ankles of the patient, a cord adapted to hold the upperportion of said apron in about the shoulders of the patient, and a cordadapted to hold the intermediate portion of said apron in about theknees and about the lap of the patient.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification thisday of May 1926.

' THOMAS A. HART.

